ABOUT

DAMIAN BAO CASTING IS A TOP GLOBAL CREATIVE CASTING STUDIO THAT DOES TRADITIONAL CASTING BY CONSIDERING ACTORS AND MODELS AND SPECIALIZES IN A SEAMLESS HYBRID AUTHENTIC CASTING STYLE THAT COMBINES ACTORS, MODELS, ARTISTS, REAL PEOPLE, AND DYNAMIC STREET FINDS TO CREATE BOLD AND STRIKING VISUAL PROJECTS IN FILM AND ADVERTISING.

METICULOUSLY LED BY UNAPOLOGETIC VISUAL TROUBLEMAKER DAMIAN BAO, OUR WORK IN THE PAST DECADE HAS BRIDGED THE WORLDS OF FILM, MUSIC, ART, DESIGN, AND FASHION WITH AUTHENTIC REPRESENTATION AND RAW TRUTH. WE HELP COLLABORATORS AND CLIENTS WORLDWIDE EVOLVE THE RULES AND BREAK THE GLASS CEILING ON SCREEN AND BEHIND THE SCENES. WE ADVOCATE FOR AUTHENTICITY, INCLUSIVITY, DIVERSITY, AND EMPATHY AND CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY AND UNIQUE VOICES THROUGH STORYTELLING.

DAMIAN BAO (HE/THEY) IS A QUEER ASIAN AMERICAN VISUAL TROUBLEMAKER, FILMMAKER, PRODUCER, CASTING DIRECTOR, VISUAL ARTIST, STRATEGIST, AND HUMAN & ANIMAL RIGHTS ADVOCATE.

DAMIAN’S UNIQUE LIFE STORY, AS A MARGINALIZED OUTSIDER BELONGING TO MULTIPLE DISENFRANCHISED GROUPS, HAS ALLOWED HIM TO SPEAK FROM THE HEART WHEN FIGHTING FOR CHANGE. HIS DISTINGUISHED PORTFOLIO IN THE PAST DECADE HAS BRIDGED THE WORLDS OF FILM, MUSIC, ART, DESIGN, AND FASHION WITH AN UNAPOLOGETIC FIERY DETERMINATION TO FIGHT FOR REAL CHANGE REGARDING WHO GETS TO TELL AND BE THE FACE OF THE STORIES THAT ARE BEING TOLD.

HIS IMPOVERISHED UPBRINGING, WHICH WAS CATALYZED BY THE KINDNESS OF EVERYDAY STRANGERS, IS THE INSPIRATION TO WHY DAMIAN ALWAYS SEEK TO TELL AUTHENTIC STORIES AND GIVE VOICE TO HUMANS AND SENTIENT BEINGS WHO ARE VOICELESS, UNSEEN, AND DISREGARDED IN THE WORLD. AS A FORMER BUDDHIST MONK, HE BELIEVES IN RADICAL STORYTELLING, VISUAL TROUBLEMAKING, AND USING EMPATHY TO TELL HUMAN STORIES THAT BRING PEOPLE FROM POLARIZING SIDES TOGETHER.

HIS EARLY MEMORIES WERE SPENT IN REFUGEE CAMPS AS HIS FAMILY HAD LEFT VIETNAM AS BOAT PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS A BABY. THEY LATER IMMIGRATED TO AMERICA, WHERE DAMIAN HAD AN UNUSUALLY COLORFUL ADOLESCENCE RUNNING AROUND CAUSING MISCHIEF IN A DIVERSE TRAILER PARK COMMUNITY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF NEW ORLEANS. HE GREW UP HEARING CRAZY TRUE STORIES FROM HIS TRANSIENT NEIGHBORS, WHO WERE CIRCUS PERFORMERS, OFFSHORE FISHERMEN, DRAG QUEENS, MIDNIGHT BALLERINAS, AND SEEDY FOLKS WITH GOOD HEARTS BUT BAD CIRCUMSTANCES, AND PERSONALLY LIVING A BUNCH OF THEM TOO. IN SOME WAYS, YOU CAN ASSUME DAMIAN BAO WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO HELP TELL UNIQUE STORIES AND DISCOVER CHARACTERS.

IN THE EARLY 2010S WHEN HE WAS WORKING AS A FASHION AND DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER, DAMIAN STARTED WORKING IN CASTING AND PRODUCTION AFTER BEING FRUSTRATED BY THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA. HE WANTED TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE HIRING OF TALENT BOTH IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA.

IN 2021, DAMIAN BAO WAS NOMINATED BY LEYNA BLOOM TO BE LISTED ON “WHO IS MAKING ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER HISTORY: THE GOOD MORNING AMERICA INSPIRATION LIST.” SHE STATED, “I AM NOMINATING DAMIAN BAO TO HIGHLIGHT HIS LEADERSHIP AND KINDNESS. THROUGH IT ALL, HE HAS FOUGHT TIRELESSLY BOTH PUBLICLY AND BEHIND THE SCENES FOR NOT ONLY ME, BUT SO MANY OTHERS, TO CREATE REAL EQUALITY AND CHANGE. HE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT OTHER GATEKEEPERS IN THE INDUSTRY SHOULD AIM TO BE.”

DAMIAN BAO HAS SHARED HIS EXPERTISE BY DELIVERING TALKS AT THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST (SXSW), TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, AND SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION. HE IS A MEMBER OF THE CASTING SOCIETY OF AMERICA.